1. Field of the Invention
The embodiments of the invention relate to a display system, and more particularly, to a system for displaying play calls to participants in an athletic competition. Although embodiments of the invention are suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for communicating play calls in a way that opponents would not be able to decipher the play call before the beginning of the play.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, play calls in an athletic competition are communicated from the coaching staff to the athletes verbally, using hand signals, or through printed sign boards. There are often strict time constraints in transmitting the play calls in the that the next play must be started quickly. For example, in (American) college football, a play must be started within 40 seconds. In high school football, a play must be started within 30 seconds. Accordingly, it is desirable to transmit the pay call efficiently so that the team receiving the play call can implement the call quickly without being penalized for delay. Play calls are often encoded so that an opponent does not know what play is being called.
The simplest form of play calling is verbal. In such a call, a play caller will verbally communicate the play to athletes. This can be achieved by shouting the play from the sidelines, or whispering the play to a single athlete who then informs the other athletes on the field. When play calls are shouted, the calls are typically encoded. For example, in football, a play call of “NASCAR” shouted from the sidelines may indicate a particular set or series of plays. The meaning is well known by the members of the team but not known to the opposition.
When plays are transmitted by hand signals, a member of the coaching staff will perform a series of gestures to communicate the play call to the athletes on the field. A first gesture may indicate which play to execute and a second gesture may indicate which player should have the ball. The meaning of the gestures is secret and only known to the players of one team.
FIG. 1 shows a system for transmitting play calls on printed signboards according to the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, the system 100 includes a signboard 105 and a series of tiles 110a-110d. The tiles can be attached to the signboard in a separable manner, such as hook and loop fasteners. Each of the tiles 110a-110d has a unique graphic or symbol which indicates an attribute of the played called. For example in football, the tile 110a can indicate that the play should be a passing play. Tile 110b can indicate that the play should go to the secondary receiver. Tile 110c can indicate that the receiver should run a crossing route. Finally, tile 110d can indicate the snap count. The tiles 110a-110d are removable and replaceable so that a variety of plays can be called using a single signboard 105 and multiple tiles. Other signboards can also be used such that the opponent does not know which signboard is in use.
The prior art systems described above have the limitation that communication relies on a static encoding of play calls. The static encoding must be simple enough to be quickly perceived by the athletes while being complex enough to maintain secrecy from the opponents. Over the course of an athletic competition, or successive competitions between the same teams, an opponent may learn the encoding scheme.
Verbal transition of play calls becomes difficult when athletic competitions become noisy from cheering spectators. Hand gestures are also a difficult transmission medium in that the time to complete a play call is large when multiple gestures must be performed in succession to signal a single play. Hand gestures can be difficult for athletes to perceive if the athlete's view is obstructed or great distance is involved. Printed signboards, have the limitation that significant time is required to find, arrange, and affix the appropriate tiles to the board before the play call can be signaled.